People: Gowling WLG; Azets; runyourfleet

International law firm Gowling WLG has strengthened its UK Tax team with the appointment of Kate Featherstone as a partner.

Featherstone specialises in all aspects of business-related and transactional tax, regularly advising on mergers and acquisitions, disposals, joint ventures, reorganisations, lending and investments. Her clients commonly comprise corporates, management teams, banks and other financial institutions.

She joins the firm from Irwin Mitchell, where she was a partner in the corporate tax team. Featherstone will operate from the firm’s offices in Birmingham and London.

Featherstone said: “I’ve known Lee Nuttall and the tax team at the firm for some time and I’m excited to be part of building the strength of the practice even further. Our team has strength and capacity to provide the full range of business-related tax services to clients across all sectors and I’m thrilled to be here.”

Lee Nuttall, Head of UK Tax at Gowling WLG, added: “Kate is a hugely respected tax lawyer and we’re really pleased she’s joined us to be part of the next stage of growth for our team.”

Featherstone is consistently ranked in legal directories including the Legal 500 and Chambers and Partners and arrives at Gowling WLG following Matthew Poole and Paul Shaw both joining the tax team as partners last year.

Stuart Young¸ Head of Corporate, Finance and Tax at Gowling WLG, said: “We’re delighted to welcome Kate as our third new tax partner in the last 18 months. The team has a strong reputation in the market and Kate will only strengthen this standing even further.”

L-R: Lucy Fairclough, Jo Catson and Vicki Brook

Azets has expanded its Birmingham team with the addition of two new partners and a director. Vicki Brook (Partner, Tax), Lucy Fairclough (Partner, ABAS), and Jo Catson (Director, Tax) all join from Big 4 firms and will be based at the firm’s office at Bank House.

With over 20 years of experience, Vicki Brook specialises in corporate tax compliance and advisory for large and complex businesses; with a particular emphasis on multinational groups and private equity-backed businesses.

Lucy Fairclough’s experience lies in advising on complex and technical accounting aspects of corporate transactions, such as group restructuring and M&A activity. She has also played a pivotal role in advising corporate groups on conversion to IFRS and updates to UK GAAP as well as complex financial statements preparation in her 20 years of experience.

Spending the last 12 months in Dubai, Jo Catson has been leading projects with a focus on international tax matters, having previously held roles specialising in corporate tax compliance and advisory.

Gurj Sandhu, Head of Azets’ Birmingham office, commented: “We are delighted to welcome Lucy, Jo and Vicki to the team. These strategic hires further strengthen our tax and accounting advisory capabilities, positioning us to meet the growing needs of our clients across the region. Their combined expertise will play a crucial role in developing our corporate tax and accounting and business advisory services teams, allowing us to provide more specialised and comprehensive advice and delivering tailored solutions that add real value to our clients.”

Two new account managers have been appointed by Multifleet Vehicle Management, the Midlands-based leasing company that serves more than 1,200 businesses across the UK.

The company, which trades as runyourfleet from its headquarters in Henley-in-Arden, Warwickshire, has welcomed Adrian Wilson and Will Mullarkey to its growing team of nearly 40.

Wilson, who has more than 20 years’ experience in customer-facing roles in the automotive sector, has joined the company from Brayleys Cars in Hertfordshire, where he was corporate sales manager for the south of England since 2017.

He said: “I’m thrilled to be joining runyourfleet which has an increasingly enviable reputation in the corporate vehicle world.

“More and more firms are choosing to outsource their entire fleet management needs to an expert company who can handle everything, and runyourfleet is leading that field.

“I am now looking forward to helping the company’s continued success by offering my experience and contacts that I’ve built up over the last two decades.”

Mullarkey joins runyourfleet from SOGO Mobility, a vehicle leasing company based in Cranfield, where he has been the specialist in managing SME company contracts for nearly four years.

He said: “I’d seen a lot of activity in the marketplace by runyourfleet and decided that this was the company where I wanted to develop my career to the next level.

“I’m really pleased to have been appointed to my new role and can’t wait to get started and meet the wider team.”

Steve Whitmarsh, chief executive of runyourfleet said: “I’m delighted to welcome Adrian and Will who have both proved themselves as able managers in the sector.

“They both were highly impressive at interview and will be bringing their own specialist knowledge to the company that will help us continue our rapid growth.”

runyourfleet provides fleet management services for over 1,200 businesses, operating 32,000-plus vehicles, and delivers over 300,000 rental days per year.

Customers range from manufacturing to accountancy firms and NHS ambulance services using a wide range of services including leasing, rental and salary sacrifice schemes.